Scientists blame a new weather phenomenon dubbed 'hydroclimate WHIPLASH' for California's devastating wildfires – and predict similar events as global warming continues

As the LA wildfire is on track to be the most devastating blaze ever in Southern California, a timely new study identifies the cause. Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles have uncovered a global pattern of what they're calling 'hydroclimate whiplash' – rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather. The researchers cite multiple whiplash events between 2016 and 2023, including the 2022 South Asian floods and fatal wildfires in Australia five years ago. Pictured, fire on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on December 19, 2019 in Sydney, Australia Weather whiplash events Southern Chile and Argentina : Dec 2016-Dec 2017 - wildfire, floods, landslides : Dec 2016-Dec 2017 - wildfire, floods, landslides Central America : Nov 2019-Nov 2020 - floods, landslides, crop loss, human displacement : Nov 2019-Nov 2020 - floods, landslides, crop loss, human displacement Northern and Central Europe : Jan 2018-Jan 2019 - floods, extreme heat, crop loss : Jan 2018-Jan 2019 - floods, extreme heat, crop loss Southeast Australia : Dec 2019-Dec 2020 - wildfire, floods : Dec 2019-Dec 2020 - wildfire, floods West Africa : Jun 2020-Sep 2020 - floods, human displacement, disease outbreak : Jun 2020-Sep 2020 - floods, human displacement, disease outbreak North-Central USA : Jan 2020-Jan 2021 - floods, crop loss, hydropower loss, wildfire : Jan 2020-Jan 2021 - floods, crop loss, hydropower loss, wildfire Iran, Pakistan and Eastern Arabian Peninsula : May 2022-Aug 2022 - floods, landslides, infrastructure damage : May 2022-Aug 2022 - floods, landslides, infrastructure damage Southern China : Jun 2022-Sep 2022 - crop loss, hydropower loss : Jun 2022-Sep 2022 - crop loss, hydropower loss Pacific Southwest : Oct 2022-Oct 2023 - wildfire, floods, landslides : Oct 2022-Oct 2023 - wildfire, floods, landslides East Africa : Sep 2023-Dec 2023 - crop and livestock loss, food shortages, floods Because warmer air can hold more water, climate change is causing heavier rainfall and extreme floods, leading to landslides on oversaturated hillsides. Different climate models, including the EU's ERA5 model, suggest whiplash events will increase until the end of this century People gather near a bridge that was damaged due to the flood at Raghu Ganga River in Myagdi, Nepal July 11, 2020 This photo taken on July 8, 2020 shows debris at the scene of a landslide in Huangmei county, Huanggang city, in China's central Hubei province Hydroclimate whiplash is projected to increase most across northern Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, northern Eurasia, the tropical Pacific and the tropical Atlantic, but most other regions will also feel the shift.